A note from the Rector:​At the Annual Meeting at 9:30 am on Sunday, 27 January, the Liturgical & Cultural Arts Commission of Calvary Church presented a plan for the installation of a chancel extension in our worship space. The details and context of this plan are shown below, or you can click here for a pdf version of the material used at the Annual Meeting. Please reach out directly to me or any member of the Commission with questions or concerns.

​​When children draw, it is a way of expressing what is happening in their lives. Albie Favate created this artistic response in 2017 while in the Level II atrium. It is of his impression of the Celebration of the Eucharist. Notice that there are lines leading up to the Altar. These lines represent the stairs that must be traversed to receive at the Altar. Alone, at the base of the steps, is Albie in his wheelchair. This shows the desire to be a part of the celebration and directly points out the separation that cannot be removed that alienates Albie from the community

Chancel Extension PlanLiturgical & Cultural Arts Commission

PurposeThe Calvary Liturgical & Cultural Arts Commission, with emphasis on historical perspective and church growth, is charged by the rector to examine and formulate a vision for Calvary’s future liturgical space, at the Nave-Chancel crossing.

Following these guidelines:o preserve the historical authenticity of Calvary’s 1896 sacred spaceo facilitate liturgical renewal of the present and futureo shore-up the fabric and structure of this living, worshipping church in continuityo provide a chancel extension for church services as well as city and cultural arts events

Members were invited to join the rector over the last two years in planning, preparing and finalizing this interior construction phase for our sanctuary. It is important to note that a patron feeling moved by this opportunity for the community, stepped forward during the 2014 Capital Campaign, with a great gift which provides a vibrant avenue for our growth together.

ScopeThe Commission is intended to consider the vision of Calvary Church in the context of its sacred worship space, as defined as the interior of the church building. This gathering’s thoughts were presented to the Vestry on several occasions and will now be presented before the Calvary Annual Meeting on 27 January 2019. Admittedly, there is much to consider; however, as we chart a new course forward at Calvary Church Summit for all people, the Commission will urge attention to a transformative vision first, beginning with the center of our communities’ worship space. For some time, it has been the hope that the Family Eucharist (9:00 am) service participants and The Table (5:00 pm) service participants would live into the necessity of a free-standing, movable Altar.

HistoryIn 1853, after the cornerstone of Calvary Episcopal Church was laid, The New York Times predicted our church would serve as a “handsome and convenient structure.” This wooden structure was replaced by a second, larger stone edifice, which burned after Christmas 1893. Esthetically, modeled after similar Neo-Gothic Revival Churches of that time, Calvary’s walls, columns and the stone work’s ornamentation was modeled after the original European Gothic Churches. And the entire space was filled with exquisite stained- glass. All of these attributes helped cast our church in the notable light of being the first church of Summit, and a beautiful Neo-Gothic Revival place of worship we call home.

The function of Calvary Church Summit has always been to serve the liturgy of the church according to the Book of Common Prayer. However, since the church’s erection in 1896, the prayer book and the liturgical norms have changed a number of times. For examplewhen Calvary was built, no one but clergy went inside the altar rail and as choir filled the chancel, the small sanctuary space was left small. Also, changes in liturgy regarding baptisms and funerals have affected accessibility, resulting in our space not always meeting its intended function. Much of this was resolved in 1998, during Father Brdlik’s tenure, when the Sanctuary was reordered with the original stone Altar pulled out from the marble & stone castle-structure (i.e. reredos). Since this time, our congregation has grown and gone from strength-to-strength with the priests facing their flock.

Calvary Church Summit was built in a time of tremendous renewal and change in Anglicanism, including theological and liturgical movements that challenged Episcopalians to claim a richer and fuller use of Anglican ways. Calvary’s founders joined that movement and were considered radicals when, in 1896, they built a Neo-Gothic building instead of building in the Classic style already popular in many towns’ prominent structures. The builders of our church incorporated the principle: form follows function, to support the liturgies of The Book of Common Prayer as they understood and practiced then.

Conclusive thoughts for Change Scholars have written numerous books over the last four decades since the late 1960s when Vatican Council II sent chaotic shock waves across the liturgical world. Our own Episcopal Church passed the revision of our BCP in 1979 and the Church Hymnal in 1982. These principal liturgical books set in motion a season of change, and helped supplant the need for our reverential and sacramental worship to be grounded in a realistic nature of who our parishes were becoming on Sundays and in everyday life. Two quotes illustrate this below:

As one scholar tells us, “Each Episcopal community of faith faces the challenge of expressing both the sacramental role and the relational role of the church – the ecclesia as both institution and people. Congregations should carefully consider how their decisions concerning the sense of proportion, the amount and type of lighting, and the degree of ornamentation will allow their architecture and worship to speak with one voice.”

And…“As the simplicity and egalitarian nature of our worship buildings change, [we] need recognize that we cannot sacrifice our ability to communicate transcendence, inspire reverence, and maintain a high regard for the sacraments. Ecclesiastic structures should not only build a communal sense, but they should also focus the community of faith upon God and facilitate the divine-human interaction. May our interactive buildings serve as effective storytellers!”

Basis for Change Although there is not a long-term plan to change the worship patterns of the traditional Rite I Holy Communion (7:45 am) or the Rite II Choral Eucharist (10:30 am) from the stone High-Altar in the Sanctuary, necessity and accessibility dictate a real need for our two newer services: The Family Eucharist (9 am) & The Table (5 pm), which draw people across our region.

Hence, members of the Calvary Liturgical and Cultural Arts Commission invite You to address the real issues surrounding those who wish to worship at the Family Eucharist and The Table.1. Supporting the liturgy of the Book of Common Prayer, including o expanding role of a Chorister-program and youth acolytes o establishing a free-standing Altar so that the Eucharistic Table is truly a table where our priest stands as the sacramental head of our assembled Christian family, facing the congregation, just as Jesus faced his friends at the Last Supper2. Improving accessibility for ALL persons who choose to worship in this place3. Claiming and maintaining architectural and historical integrity through continuity

During our meetings, we continually asked ourselves if the plans we have envisioned compared to the space in which we already worship will serve the liturgical function of Calvary Church Summit. It is hoped that this restoration and renovation will not only renew our building and liturgical space, but will also help to renew our worship as part of the ‘Body of Christ’ as we look forward to the growth and renewal of our parish as a whole.

SummaryWhen our original altar space was re-designed around 1916, those that remodeled our church were faithful to the liturgy, as they knew it then. They installed the present marble altar against the wall. This architecture was consistent with the rites and worship doctrines set out in the Book of Common Prayer around 1898, but different from the original altar table that faced the congregation in 1853. Again, the parish responded and moved the Altar forward in 1998.

The 1979 Book of Common Prayer changed many liturgical requirements. A major change required that lay persons become more involved in many aspects of the worship service. When our current altar space was designed, lay-persons were finally permitted behind the rail. Today Calvary’s current sanctuary space works conveniently to include Clergy, Acolytes, and Lay Eucharistic Ministers. However, a new movable Altar is needed for safety and growth.

In the church’s earliest days, free standing altars were the norm. Yet, in the Victorian period, wall mounted altars became prominent, as pseudo-antiquarians revived / advanced ideas. The Prayer book changes of 1979 suggest that the Altar table should be truly a table. It should be “free standing table” in which the people of God gather and the priest or bishop stands as a sacramental head of the Christian family, facing the people as Jesus faced his friends at the Last Supper.

Completing this project would restore our worship space closer to its original design within the parameters of neo-Gothic architecture. Our interior would be far more functional and more inviting to those who worship here. Our cultural-arts enhancements will serve us well into the future, and allow Calvary to become a center for musical activity in the city of Summit & its wider region.

Quite truly, our worship space will be more authentic, open, accessible and inviting.